The New Avatar
by satomobile
Summary: When Tenzin is told his father's reincarnation has been found, he struggles to come to terms with his passing. Linzin/ Kataang


The ink colored sky was cloudless tonight. As Tenzin soared beneath on Oogi's back each pinprick of shining light seemed to hold a deeper meaning, every shift in brightness a memory of his father. In his boyhood, his father Aang told him that all the stars in the sky were happy souls that had parted with their physical bodies. When they blinked, it was really just some benevolent spirit letting Tenzin know that they were looking after his well-being. He picked out Grandpa Hakoda, who lovingly bestowed a wink on his grandson. Could his father be watching over too?

No.

Aang couldn't possibly be one of these contented stars. Not as long as his soul was bound up inside a six year old water-tribe girl.

Junichi, current Grand Master of the Order of the White Lotus, had paid him a visit at his office in City Hall just as Tenzin was collecting papers to review at home. He didn't bother knocking, he just appeared in the doorway, looking grave. Junichi's face said everything Tenzin needed to know. The new Avatar had been found. Tenzin's papers left his hand and drifted to the floor gracefully.

Junichi was respectful enough to disappear as quickly as he had come, leaving Tenzin to sort out his thoughts. If he had been more prepared to hear it, he might have gone back to the temple to meditate, but instead he sat at his desk for hours trying to wrap his mind around this information without success. He wasn't ready to meditate. He wasn't ready to talk. He wasn't sure what he needed to do to get this feeling out of his system, but he felt that maybe the answer to his troubles was waiting for him at home, so he drifted back to the island in a daze.

The lights were out on Air Temple Island. The soft sound of Oogi's feet making contact with the earth sounded explosive in the stillness. Tenzin floated off his back and absentmindedly giving him a pat, headed for his house. Along the way, he passed his childhood home, where his mother still lived.

"Not tonight," he whispered to himself as he looked up at her bedroom window. Telling her would have to wait.

Entering his own home, he hung his cloak next to the door and nearly tripped over a pair of boots in the darkness.

"Lin..." he muttered somewhere between amused and frustrated. She always kicked off her shoes immediately at the door and left them where they landed, much to Tenzin's chagrin. Her retort was that Tenzin should know to watch out for them after all this time. It wasn't her fault he couldn't seem to recognize this pattern and adapt. At least he knew she was home.

He didn't bother to turn on a light when he entered their bedroom, he could see her peacefully curled up in the natural light of happy souls. He made his way over to her side of the bed and sat on the edge with his back to her, emitting a small sigh. The sag he created in the mattress gently jostled her awake.

"Good evening, party animal," she said groggily. Tenzin threw her a puzzled look over his shoulder. Wiping her eyes she explained, "what were you doing out so late?" Training his gaze back at the wall in front of him he replied,

"Junichi came by my office tonight."

This information seemed to wake Lin fully. She propped herself up on one elbow and set her other hand on the small of Tenzin's back and gave him a comforting rub.

"They found him?" she asked.

"Her."

"The new Avatar is a girl," Lin stated more than asked, but Tenzin nodded anyway.

After a moment of silence she spoke again, this time her voice full of sympathy.

"Are you ok?"

Another minute passed in silence. Tenzin wasn't sure how to answer that question, so he stared forward trying to come up with an answer that could possibly encompass the range of emotions he was feeling as Lin continued to move her hand up and down his back. He felt unsettled and he just wanted _something_ to make him feel better.

"I don't know," he said finally. It was an honest answer.

He felt the mattress shift as she maneuvered herself up, from behind him she slid her arms down his own and encircled him in a hug. She gave his shoulder a quick kiss, before resting her chin there.

"Thanks," he said quietly. She gave a quick nod, her chin knocking against his clavicle.

"I know it is great that he's been reborn. Its the natural cycle of the world. It's just that...it's just that- it feels like he's died all over again," Tenzin exhaled.

"But he hasn't," Lin replied plainly, each word punctuated by her chin digging into his shoulder. He didn't mind. He just continued to stare blankly ahead, so Lin followed up.

"You know that in a way he's still around. He's never really gone."

"That's just it," Tenzin interrupted, "He is never going to be at peace. The Avatar keeps going. Its a restless existence. And its not really him."

"This girl..." Lin lead, searching for a name.

"Korra," Tenzin supplied, "Her name is Korra."

"This Korra is not Aang, but she does have a connection to him. She will be able to communicate with his spirit. Which means you can still communicate with him on some level. That's something I know most people would kill for," she finished. The sadness that passed over her face wasn't lost on Tenzin, even out of the corner of his eye. He gave her hand a squeeze and turned his head to face her with a sympathetic smile. It had been just over a year since her mother had passed away.

"I know that. I am not saying that it isn't kind of comforting..."

"But...?"

"But, he will never really rest. I won't ever get closure, my mother... she will never rest as long as he's around in some way. She's going to want to move back, now."

"The Avatar is southern water tribe?" Lin asked.

"Yes."

Lin broke into a knowing smile, "Yeah. I think your Mom is headed back as soon as she finds out."

Tenzin worried about this prospect. His mother needed someone to take care of, it was just her nature. When Aang died, she busied herself cooking food for everyone and making pots upon pots of calming tea. Even after they fed the excess to the acolytes, they still had to throw half of the food away. She seemed lost without Aang and once the kids had moved out and her other friends had dissipated, she began to complain of having nothing to do. When Toph passed away, she occupied herself by doting on Lin for months. But Lin had been faltering less lately and putting her brave face on with greater ease every day, so Katara was back to grumbling about not feeling effective. It weighed on her to be idle. The news of a new Avatar would certainly reignite her spark and take her back to the south pole. In a brief moment of selfishness, Tenzin considered not telling her for awhile. He wasn't ready to lose both his parents to a stranger halfway across the world.

"Wouldn't you go? If you were in your mother's position," Lin asked, breaking him from his thoughts.

"For you? Yes," he said factually. "I would probably annoy your spirit into breaking the cycle just to get away from me," he joked. Lin smiled at the idea.

"Well," Lin began, her tone indicating a clear switch back to the subject at hand, "I don't think you should worry about your father not resting peacefully. If your father had passed into the spirit world like a regular person, I think he would have felt...unsettled."

Tenzin nodded thoughtfully. It was true. As the Avatar, Aang's very existence was based on rebirth and second chances, rest for the Avatar was knowing their legacy would live on through another. Genuinely smiling, he turned his head and came nose to nose with Lin.

"I love you," he told her, lightly planting a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Love you, too" she replied, and then letting out a yawn and stretching she sank back down into the bed, pulling on his shoulder. "Now let's get some sleep, ok?" Lin lifted the blankets as an invite.

"Ok," Tenzin complied, curling up alongside her. Sliding his arm around her waist, he pulled her close, thankful that the only thing he really needed to make him feel better was right here.


End file.
